page_title: LGBT rights in Finland
section_title: Public opinion
hierarchical_section_title: LGBT rights in Finland / Public opinion
caption_attribution_description: English: Helsinki Pride 2018
context_page_description: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Finland have been advancing for decades. According to an annual ILGA report, Finnish LGBT legislation is among the most extensive and developed legislations in Europe. Compared to fellow Nordic countries, it ranks near the top, outranked only by neighbouring Norway. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity have been legal in Finland since 1971 with "promotion" thereof decriminalized and the age of consent equalized in 1999, and homosexuality declassified as an illness in 1981. Discrimination based on sexual orientation in areas such as employment, the provision of goods and services, etc, was criminalized in 1995 and discrimination based on gender identity in 2005.
  Same-sex marriage and joint adoption by same-sex couples were approved by the Finnish Parliament in 2014, and the law took effect on 1 March 2017. Previously, Finland had allowed registered partnerships between 2002 and 2017, which gave same-sex couples the same rights as married couples except for adoption and a joint surname.
context_section_description: Support for same-sex marriage in Finland has grown gradually since the 2000s. A December 2006 EU poll put Finnish support for same-sex marriage at 45%, while an August 2010 survey conducted by Yle put support at 54% with 35% opposing it. In January 2013, a poll conducted by YouGov found that support had climbed to 57%, with 32% opposed and 12% unsure. In the same survey, support for same-sex adoption was 51%, with 36% opposed and 13% unsure. A March 2013 survey by Taloustutkimus found that 58% of Finns supported same-sex marriage. A survey taken in March 2014 by Taloustutkimus found that 65% of Finns supported same-sex marriage, while 27% opposed. A different survey in March 2014 found that 57% supported same-sex adoption, while 36% opposed.
  A gay rights panel discussion that aired on YLE2 on October 12, 2010 was followed by an unprecedented high number of people leaving the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. In 2014, thousands of Finns resigned from the Church, following comments made by church officials supporting the same-sex marriage legislation. In June 2019, Archbishop Tapio Luoma affirmed that same-sex couples are welcome at all church activities.
  The 2015 Eurobarometer found that 66% of Finns thought that same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, 28% were against.
  The 2019 Eurobarometer found that 76% of Finns thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, 21% were against. 80% believed that gay, lesbian and bisexual people should enjoy the same rights as heterosexual people, and 79% believed there is nothing wrong about a same-sex sexual relationship.
caption: The 2018 Helsinki Pride parade was attended by an estimated 100,000 people; almost triple that of 2017.[56]
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